A video supposedly showing Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan talking about the upcoming state assembly elections is going viral on social media.
In the video, we can hear, "Look brothers, I will get to the point without wasting any time. Because of inflation and unemployment, the people of Madhya Pradesh are going against BJP. Surveys also suggest that our party's condition is problematic. Now, start working towards the elections meticulously. Go to every village and district, especially Indore, Ujjain, and Damoh, where our votes are relatively less. Put more and more party workers in these areas for the campaign. Show them the letter by PM Modi and use that to appeal for votes in his name, otherwise, the party will lose by a vast majority."
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
What's the truth?: This video has been altered to add the monologue.
The original video from June does not have any audio in the background.
How did we find out the truth?: We noticed Asian News International's (ANI) logo on the corner of the viral video.
ANI's logo on the corner of the viral video.
(source: Altered by The Quint)
Taking a cue, we looked for Chouhan's video on ANI's official YouTube channel and came across the same video from 26 June.
The original and extended version of this video and had an instrumental music in the background with no audible speech.
The description of the video stated that Chouhan held a review meeting in Bhopal on 26 June regarding the preparations for PM Modi’s visit to the state.
ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan also posted a version of this on X (formerly Twitter) and this video had no background music at all.
The official account of the state CM also shared some images on X from this meeting.
The Times of India also shared the video, and it did not match with the audio heard in the viral clip.
Conclusion: Clearly, an edited video is going viral to claim that MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan made a controversial remark before the elections.
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